The Dummy

I'm just interested in others thoughts on dummy use.

I have a 19 month old who loves her dummy so much that she'd suck it on and off all day if I let her. (we aim to use it only at bedtime).

She was a very 'sucky' infant and the dummy was great for that reason. However, when it came to sleeping she would wake up after every sleep cycle and would only go back off with the dummy. At the stage when she couldn't put it in herself I was up doing it for her between 5-10 times a night! Of course this drove me mad but we got through it and now I'm quite happy to be able to offer her the dummy in the car if shes upset or simply for bedtime.

I'm pregnant now with our second bub and wondering should I use it again or not go down that road?

My two year old still has a dummy. She spent a long time in hospital as a baby so it was introduced then and she still loves it so much. I fell pregnant with her brother when she was only fifteen months old and definitely not ready to part with it... any attempts just left her distraught. So we let her keep it. And we definitely didn't want to take it away around the time he arrived, we thought there would be enough going on for her as it was. And sure enough when he arrived she went from only having it at sleep times to asking for it constantly, keeping it with her at all times and screaming whenever anyone tried to take it, poor love.
She's only now gotten better and I just hide it every morning and give it to her at bedtime. I'm planning on taking it away by christmas this year at the latest - she'll be almost three then - maybe taking her to see Santa and give it to him for another baby who needs it Hopefully that works.

DS is five months and loves his dummy too. Personally I love them. I just can't function on no sleep and have never been able to settle my babies without one, so they're lifesavers for me. If it works, go for it, I say.

My 23 month old son has a dummy, mainly for bed and when he's tired/upset/not well. My eldest also had a dummy, but my middle child didn't want one. My 23 mnth old will ask for it at bed time or nap time and won't go to sleep until he has it, so not sure what's gonna happen when we get rid of it.

We also had the same issue- up all night to put it back in when they were young, we took the dummy of both our boys at 8months and then they never ever even stired durring the night, they slept so much better once the dummy was gone. 4 months ago we had a little girl and i said i would never use a dummy again but by 3months she was always wanting to suck so i gave in, the good thing is with her that when it falls out durring her sleep she never wakes for it and as with the boys it will go befor she starts walking.

We also had the same issue- up all night to put it back in when they were young, we took the dummy of both our boys at 8months and then they never ever even stired durring the night, they slept so much better once the dummy was gone. 4 months ago we had a little girl and i said i would never use a dummy again but by 3months she was always wanting to suck so i gave in, the good thing is with her that when it falls out durring her sleep she never wakes for it and as with the boys it will go befor she starts walking.

I think this time round I won't push it so much with new bub in the hope they don't get too attached to it but just enough when it's really needed!

DD1 loved her dummy and similar story to yours i spent many many night putting it back in till she could do it herself. she had her dummy till 2.5yrs.

DD2 i was prepared with different dummies to try and see what one she liked. she didnt want any, i tried over a few weeks but she still didnt want it. its been a blessing as she sleeps so well.

if i had another i would offer a dummy but i wouldnt force the issue

You're quite right! I think I'll do the same... Just offer but not push it so much that they need it all the time. I'm dreading going back to getting up and down all night just for the dummy. So I'm going to try using it a little less in the hope that this bub will sleep better if they're not addicted to it and demanding it all night long!

I did this with my second as I didnt want to put to much stress on myself (DS1 was only 17months).

With DS1 he didnt have a dummy til 8 weeks and he still has it now at nearly 3. It is strictly for bed time and he just loves it so much...we talk to him about giving it up, but want him to do it in his own time (whenever that might be!)

DS2 I dont think we even lasted a week. He was a terribly unsettled baby that would refuse to feed if it hadnt been a full three hours so I couldnt even use booby to comfort him. Giving him the dummy was more a necessity as we had a 17month old and DS2 would just scream even when being held...He still has his dummy but is no where near as attached as DS1.

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